TO:       James A. Squires

              President, Chief Executive Officer, and Executive Chairman

              Norfolk Southern Railway

              Three Commercial Place

              Norfolk, VA 23510

 

              Hon. Shelley Moore Capito

              United States Senate

 

              Hon. Joe Manchin

              United States Senate

 

              Hon. Carol Miller

              United States House of Representatives

 

              Hon. Jim Justice

              Governor, State of West Virginia

 

MR. SQUIRES, Senator Capito, Senator Manchin, Congresswoman Miller, and Governor Justice:

 

              WE, PRESENT AND PAST CITIZENS AND RESIDENTS OF BLUEFIELD, WEST VIRGINIA, on behalf of ourselves, our fellow citizens, our children, and all future citizens and residents of Bluefield, hereby respectfully but insistently inform you of the following:

 

              THE GRANT STREET BRIDGE in Bluefield West Virginia was built in 1941 through the cooperation of the former Norfolk & Western Railway and the City of Bluefield; and

 

              THE GRANT STREET BRIDGE served for nearly eighty years as the principle and most convenient means by which residents of Bluefield’s East End and North Side communities reached downtown Bluefield for work, commerce and fellowship; and

 

              THE GRANT STREET BRIDGE deteriorated to the point where it was deemed unsafe for traffic and was closed in June of 2019; and

 

              THE GRANT STREET BRIDGE closure has harmed this community, especially the residents of the East End and North Side communities, separating those residents from their fellow citizens, and an injury to one of us is an injury to all of us.

 

              NOW, THEREFORE, IN LIGHT OF THE FOREGOING, we implore you to take the following action:

 

              TO MR. SQUIRES AND NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORPORATION:  Join with the citizens of Bluefield to quickly determine and implement a solution for the repair or replacement of the GRANT STREET BRIDGE, honoring in spirit and action the commitments previously made to maintain the GRANT STREET BRIDGE;

 

              TO SENATORS CAPITO AND MANCHIN, CONGRESSWOMAN MILLER, AND GOVERNOR JUSTICE:  Assist the citizens of Bluefield and Norfolk Southern Corporation with the repair or replacement of the GRANT STREET BRIDGE, allocating, if necessary, appropriate and sufficient state and federal funding to the task;

              All so that this important, symbolic and much-needed span can once again connect your fellow citizens with each other, their families, and the life of the community.